Obloquy
by Ameli Stoncius
Summary: Every member of the gang had a life before the orphanage that they'd forgotten about. Zell is mortified when he slowly begins remembering his. My belief on how he ended up with his tattoo.


  
  
  
  
A/N: This is my first fic, please be gentle! No flames, but constructive critisism is okay.  
  
  
Even at thirty-one, Darius Berkely was what some would call "a real looker." At 6'1'', the flaxen blonde haired, broad chested SeeD could get almost any woman he wanted; simply by flashing them his mega-watt smile. He lived a once care-free life-- until one of his one-night stands occured in the birth of _his_son, Zell. With Zell's birth, Darius was forced to settle down with Leah to try and set a good example. _All because the condom broke.._he thought bitterly. He regretted the outcome of his sleeping with the good-looking brunette to this day. (Four years later.) Zell cowered in his presence and often cried himself to sleep. Darius always concluded that this boy couldn't possibly be of his genetic material.   
  
Leah stirred gently under the aged feather-down comforter; her face was pale, with the exception of a few dark spots which would soon become nasty bruises. They were from last nights' fight._Damn wench._ he quiped in his head. She had come home from her job at the FH band scolding him for the rapid dissapearance of their money. Darius-- who was drunk-- had beaten her into submission. He always vaguely remembered these incidents; when he recalled the fear in her trembling voice, the look of horror reflected in her emerald eyes, he felt a tinge of foreboding excitement. The beatings had occured regularly since their marraige, three years prior. Leah was too afraid for her life, and for Zell's to tell anyone. Who would believe a high-school dropout who got knocked up at seventeen over a high-ranked, well-respected SeeD?  
  
Darius glanced into the Victorian-styled oak vanity and smiled, he was blessed with an angelic smile that would throw doubts into anyones mind. The soft sunlight of the early morn peeked in through the fabric blinds almost gave his reflection in the mirror an angelic glow. He pressed the wrinkles out of his SeeD uniform outfit and ran a hand through the short bristles of golden-blonde hair. He quickly wrote a note and placed it upon the tiled counter in the kitchen on his way out.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Zell awoke a few hours after his father had left; his face was tear-stained and his pillow saturated with blotches from the bloody nose he had recieved last night. He stretched his aching body and quietly crawled out of the rickety bed and proceeded to tip-toe to his mothers' room. He pushed the heavy double-doors open and stared at the figure on the bed. It didn't seem like his mother; she was normally radiant, confident, and had a glowing aura to her that seemed to draw everyones attention. The woman on the bed was battered, her complexion flaxen, and her beautiful chestnut hair in a mass of tangles and clotted with blood.   
  
He pulled himself onto the bed and gently shook his mom, "Mommy? Wake up Mommy." Leah didn't stir, but she groaned softly, her right hand contracting to leave the broken bones protruding through the broken skin. Zell picked up his moms' left hand and patted it. "Mommy okay? Please, get up..have to go now." there was no response, with the exception of her shallow, ragged breathing getting slower. "Go now." The small boy repeated with an increasing urgency. Zell knew they had to leave, Daddy hurt them too much. He remembered last night, lots of yelling-- mostly about gil, but also about Daddy sleeping with "whores." He didn't quite know what a "whore" was, but he was pretty positive that it wasn't a good thing. Zell had walked out into the fight last night, sobbing. "Please stop hurting Mommy. You can take my monies, just leave her alone." This was answered with a sharp blow to his nose and a degrading comment. He remembered that his mom had hit daddy across the face for hurting him, but he couldn't remember anything that happened after that.   
  
"Mommy?" he asked, become more petrified than he had ever felt. Leah tried to wake up and comfort her darling son, but it was so dark...she couldn't find a way out of the abyssmal darkness. She heard Zells' desperate pleas; "Mommy hurry! Before Daddy is home from work..." She thought of the day her angel was brought to her. He was such an adorable baby! He had recieved Darius' cerulean eyes and golden blonde hair, and her own temperment, smile and eye shape. She remembered when she first held him, he gurgled happily as she cooed over him. She forced herself out of the past and into the and into the present. Leah finally seemed to find her mouth.  
  
"Zelly..I..I love...you.." She whispered hoarsely with her last remaining energy. Zell jumped at the sweet sound of his mothers' voice.   
  
"I love you Mommy." With that, Leah Celeste Berkely took her last breath.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The horde of monsters surrounding Darius and his fellow SeeDs was overwhelming. The ratio was at least four-to-one, and growing. Darius took charge, screaming the name of a guardian feared by many, and his most loyal GF. "QUEZACOTL!!"  
  
The other SeeD members scurried quickly to a safe hiding spot as Quezacotl's protective shield covered them. They plugged their ears in a hurry, and all in a moment, a mass of lighting gathered in the now-storm-darkened-sky. A horrendous screech erupted as the shape flew with great ferocity towards the sodden earth, the errie screech reaching unethical heights. When the ball was several yards from the soft-trodden dirt, the mass exploded, bearing the guardian of lighting. Quezacotl unfurled itself from a ball, the blue, green and yellow strips intertwining all over the great guardian's body. It's mighty wings stretched out to their full span and the screeching became unbearable. With precision and little effort, Quezacotl apperated a mass of lightening and sent it towards the horde. The wails of pain accompanied the brilliant flashes of light. Darius reopened his eyes, he was on his back, staring up at the quickly receeding mass of clouds.  
  
"Everyone alright?" asked one SeeD.  
  
"Yeah.. C'mon Ladies, lets head back to H.Q."  
  
******  
  
The homecoming to H.Q. seemed happy. As Darius swung the van into the parking lot, he saw a squad of Police cars sitting there. "Wonder what they are here for." He wondered out loud.  
  
"Probably some drunk student again.." Jurst said quietly. As the crew piled out of the van, a rather large cop stumbled over.   
  
"Can I help you, Officer?" Darius said, smiling his mega-watt-smile.  
  
There was a grim nod, "Darius Berkely..you are under arrest for the murder of your wife. " As he slapped handcuffs on Darius, Darius's squad looked on in shock. "You have the right to remain silent, if you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."   
  
  
  
Please Review and tell me what you think! Chapter 2 will be up when I get to work on it s'more! THANKS! XD 


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